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I’d never wanted anybody as much as I wanted this woman, right now.

She motioned for me to come to her bedroom. As I stepped inside, my instincts roared to take charge. I wanted to order her to strip so I could watch every inch of her appear. To turn around and place her hands on the bed. So many other things I wanted and fantasized about all this time.

But that was a conversation we still needed to have. Tonight, I was going to enjoy the woman in front of me. Later, we would deal with the rest of it. I was done making Lena wait.

I stared at her, and she stared at me, everything building between us until we moved at the same time. We came together with a clash of lips and teeth and tongues. Roaming hands and groans of relief.

“Do you need me to take this slow?” I whispered the words into her neck.

“Please don’t.”

I laughed softly. “Thank goodness.”

Pulling her shirt up and over her head, I tossed it aside before freezing. This was as much of her skin as I’d ever seen. In the warm light of the lamp, I drank her in. Lena’s hair was wild, mussed and damp. And her skin…I wanted to touch every inch of it.

Taste it—and her.

I shrugged out of my shirt, watching Lena’s breath speed up in the process. Stepping closer, I wrapped my arms around her, taking the moment to draw my fingers across her skin and feel the softness. I found the clasp of her bra and let it fall away.

Lena looked up at me, cheeks blushing. “Is this real? We’re sure I didn’t fall and hit my head and this is all a dream.”

Lifting her off her feet, I stretched her out on the bed before joining her. “Very real, Lena. And I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”

I didn’t give her a chance to respond, rolling over her and dropping my mouth to her skin. Nothing could hold me back except her words, and the only word I heard on her lips was yes.

My mouth had a mind of its own. My body too. Everything was simply too overwhelming. This was Lena. Her skin pebbled, and she arched to meet my mouth, where I kissed across her chest and down between her breasts. She sank her hands into my hair and pulled me closer.

I was caught between everything. My need to take control and my desire to savor every inch of Lena’s body. The softness of her skin and the tiny, panting breaths she made every time I kissed her body. The need to talk to her and tell her every filthy thought speeding through my head and the urge to keep silent so we didn’t break the atmosphere of reverence surrounding us.

“Oh my god.” Lena both whispered and moaned the words as I sealed my mouth over one nipple, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of it hardening under my tongue. It drew into a tight peak that made it look so much pinker.

She dug her fingers into my scalp, following me as I continued my journey, tasting her skin and teasing her with brushes of my tongue until I reached the waistband of her pants. “May I take these off?”

“Burn them for all I care,” she said, breathless.

I made sure she felt my smile.

Moving so I knelt, I hooked my fingers under the band of her sweatpants and pulled them off. She hadn’t bothered with underwear after her shower, so she was completely naked in front of me. Lena looked up at me, total vulnerability shining in her eyes. This was the moment when we crossed a line neither of us could come back from.

It felt perfect and inevitable, but also fragile.

She was so small underneath me. My height dwarfed hers when she stood. Now I felt like I dwarfed her everywhere, and the caveman in me liked that. I loved having the ability to wrap myself around her and keep her safe and protected.

Deeper, there was an instinct I couldn’t let myself consider right now. This woman was mine, and I was never going to let her go. Now that I’d seen the truth of my mistake, I never wanted to be away from her.

And I never wanted to see this unsure look in her eyes again.

Stretching myself over her, I kissed her. Softly and deeply. “Lena, you are perfect.”

She choked on a laugh. “I don’t know about that.”

“Perfect,” I whispered again. “Please don’t doubt it.”

Her cheeks tinged pink, and I watched her eyes flutter closed under my kiss. Already, the way she was, hair spread over the pillow, face flushed…I regretted every second I’d spent not loving her. Watching her from afar and doing nothing about it.

I was going to make up for lost time.

Again, I followed the path, kissing different places on her body and listening to the way her breathing changed. I glanced up and found her watching me, gaze now filled with wonder instead of nerves.